


Hunt

by XantunsiaRiveresiana



Series: Xantunsia Riveresiana Chronicles [14]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Original Character-centric, POV Monster, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23628661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XantunsiaRiveresiana/pseuds/XantunsiaRiveresiana
Summary: When you realize which side you're on, it's too late.
Series: Xantunsia Riveresiana Chronicles [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700809
Kudos: 1





	Hunt

"A pest approaches..."  
Would be the closest translation to the animalistic thoughts the feeding Tyger had as its meal was interrupted by an intruder

"Two legged... It's claw not connected... another one of that kind of pest...!"  
Though the beast recognized the kind of creature that approached them, fought many of them, and feasted on just as many, it was surprised by the number of them that were approaching them.  
Just one.

Usually it was hordes that came after them; flies, intent on halting their feeding. Occasionally they would approach a lone one to use as a quick stopgap for their insatiable hunger. Those ones however, didn't have their claw at the ready like this one did. Never had the beast been approached by a single, clawed creature like this. The typically quick to anger Tyger followed their instincts, responding to the audacity of the approaching creature with a rage filled roar.

Which the bipedal creature returned in kind.  
The stance the Tyger had taken after its outburst was an offensive one certainly, but all three of their faces had a wary expression. This encounter became more and more curious as it continued. They had heard cries from these creatures before, roars even, but always in groups of dozens. Yet the power of this one creature's roar eclipsed those dozens of cries alone. 

It's approach was slow, it was still at a distance. Perhaps some instinct in the Tyger felt the urge to keep that distance, as opposed to it's usual habit of brutally rushing and slaughtering pests, as their dragon head jumped on the opportunity and released a lighting breath attack from a distance.

A hit! The paralysis would surely kick in now. Having weakened the opposing creature with little effort, the beast shook off these pestering warning sirens in their mind and went on the offensive at close range. They brought their full weight to bear in their claw and tail strikes as their opponent met them with blows of their own. It was clear who's attacks had the upper hand. While this single creature could bring the force of a dozen of its kind, the Tyger had in fact slain dozens of it's kind at once. The creature was getting pushed back. And with each hit that clashed, The Tyger came out on top, while the creature's body grinded, popped, and cracked to resist the force it faced. 

"This will kill it." The Tyger thought, delivering what had been time and time again, the final blow to similarly injured foes. A mighty poisonous sting from it's scorpion tail connected with tremendous force on the audacious creature, sending it bounding back. The Tyger casually followed the bouncing mound that once lived, eager to add to it's meal, only to notice something peculiar. It still lived.  
And not only that, it ended it's bounding trajectory on its feet

And with a smile.

The suppressed warning signals in the Tyger's head shot off louder than ever. This was not the time to hold back, their instincts told them. All abilities at their disposal must be used to bring this threat down.  
Pridefully fighting against their instincts, the beast's rage grew at the very thought that this heavily battered create could be considered a threat.

"The next hit will certainly kill it!!"  
Were the feelings conveyed in the roar it released while it continued it's onslaught. Paralysis, frostbite, poison, grind, pop, crack, the creature continued to fight

"The next hit certainly!!"  
Frostbite, poison, grind, pop, the creature continued to fight.

"This WILL kill you!!"  
Poison, grind, the creature continued to fight.  
"The next hit.... the next hit...!!"

...?

Grind.

The sound dumbfounded the beast. And it wasn't until they heard it that it had struck them.  
"When was the last time... I hit it..?" Their claws connected with the claw of the creature, but the creature no longer grinded or popped. Their tail was no longer poisoning them, and they swiftly moved away from the voices of the dragon and ram heads. And yet, they heard a grind where they shouldn't have. As the creature delivered a blow, it's body grinded...?

No. It was their body that grinded. And as they realized that, they realized too that their footing had shifted. They had been pushed back.  
How? Why? Had their strength waned?  
No, though their attacks had become more frantic, desperate even, as the battle drew out, but the force behind their hits had not lessened in the least. Which means...  
"They're... growing.... stronger...!!"

In this short amount of time, over the course of this very fight, this creature's strength had waxed from a dozen of its kind, to the dozens that rivaled their own. And it continued to grow.  
Grind, pop  
Though it's strength grew at an alarming rate, it didn't change the fact that it was still heavily injured.  
"With a single hit... with one more hit...!"

Grind, pop, crack.  
The hit still did not come. As if it expected the attacks, as if it could see them before they happened, any attack the Tyger unleashed upon the creature that could not be blocked was dodged. And it was in that moment that the Tyger had felt a sensation they never had before in their lifetime of satisfying their hunger. A sort of understanding. An empathy for the creatures they made feel this, and they finally realized what was sending those warning signals off in their head. The feeling they were being warned about.

The feeling of being hunted.  
And they were being hunted successfully.

\---  
"Hah.... hah.... ha.... huh?" Xantunsia said, leaning on the axe she had firmly planted inside the motionless beast. "So these are the hunts on Nordvrant?"  
As she pulled her axe out and sat down to rest in front of the Tyger she just felled, she looked out at the Crystal Tower in the distance. A wide, childish, teeth flashing grin spread across her face and she chuckled out  
"This is gonna be some fun training!"


End file.
